


The Company of Immortals

by persephoneggsy



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Ashilda!Eggsy, Declarations Of Love, Doctor Who inspired AU, Hell Bent fucking wrecked me okay this is how I cope, I just borrowed certain aspects of the characters, Immortality, M/M, but not really, doctor!harry, end of the universe, some spoilers for season 9 of Doctor Who
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-05-05 19:53:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5388194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephoneggsy/pseuds/persephoneggsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the end of universe. And it really shouldn't surprise Harry when he finds who's waiting there for him.</p><p>(Or: A Doctor Who inspired AU wherein Harry and Eggsy are both immortals.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Company of Immortals

**Author's Note:**

> Doctor Who keeps emotionally compromising me and I am not okay
> 
> Claraaaaaaaa

* * *

 

 

“At the end of everything, one must expect the company of immortals.”

 _\- Doctor Who,_ "Hell Bent"

 

* * *

 

 

The end of the universe was never really something Harry found himself afraid of. There were so many other, more immediate things that frightened and terrified, after all. Hostile aliens, deadly monsters, angry and vengeful creatures of different natures, and of course, L.A. traffic.

Harry had lived for nearly two thousand years now, a loner running to the ends of all the worlds in all the galaxies, but with no end destination in sight. And besides, he had a time machine. He could forestall the end of everything for as long as he saw fit.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t a bit curious.

Which explained why he was where he was now, parking his time machine in a year with so many zeroes behind it, it almost seemed made up. Like no one could really expect the years to add up to such an amount. But it was real; it was the year, the hour, even, that the universe would just… end.

Harry stared down at his hands, still splayed out over the controls of his time machine, and drew in a shaky breath. There was something finite about it all, even though Harry was planning on just sticking around for a few minutes and then nipping off to some other planet, billions of years earlier. He’d once seen the end of the Earth, engulfed in flames from its own sun. An entire planet of forests and oceans and cities, burnt to a crisp. But the difference there was that humanity survived; they colonized and moved on, spreading out among the stars.

No one would be surviving this.

Absently, Harry wondered if he’d even make it this far. Sometimes, he felt every single year he’d ever lived, but other times… it seemed to pass by in a blur. And he wasn’t immortal, of course not. He had an expiration date, just like everything else. But the thought of being the last living thing in the universe, alone and with nothing else to do but just watch it all end, was depressing.

And then, just like that, there was a sound.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Body rigid, and hand immediately clasped on the Emergency Escape switch, Harry slowly turned his head towards the doors. The sound continued, though quicker, as though it were growing impatient.

_Knock, knock, knock, knock._

The time traveler reluctantly relinquished his grip on the console, his curiosity getting the better of him. He walked towards the doors and opened them, not sure what to expect-

-until the only thing he could have possibly expected was right in front of him, grinning in his face.

“Eggsy,” he breathed out, like he’d been holding his breath for centuries. A young man stood before him, but he was young in the same way Harry appeared to be in his early fifties.

“Hello, Old Man,” he beamed, as though seeing Harry were the highlight of his day. It very well could have been, he was never exactly subtle with his feelings about the man. “I figured you’d pop up here.”

Eggsy didn’t barge into the time machine, though he did tilt his head over Harry’s shoulder to get a better peak at it. Harry had been strict about not letting him in. Ever since he’d saved the boy’s life, a long, long time ago, rendering him immortal in the process, he was determined to keep him at arm’s length. No matter how much Eggsy had begged throughout the centuries, Harry was adamant on his one rule; never travel with an immortal. They’d drive each other insane. Not that Harry disliked him; quite the opposite, really. But they’d wear each other out- possibly to an early grave, if either of them could be so lucky.

Naturally, that was just what he’d told Eggsy whenever he asked.

The real reason was the guilt.

Eggsy wasn’t like Harry; he was born human. And human minds only had so much space in them before they got too crowded. Eggsy forgot things. The first time Harry reencountered him, it was five hundred years after he’d saved his life. The boy couldn’t recall his parents’ names or even faces, though he did make a point to write things down in a rather extensive collection of journals. Harry felt a pang of regret that _he_ was the one to do that to him. Forced him to forget everyone he’d ever loved and cared about.

The one thing he never forgot, though, was Harry. Nine hundred years after he’d become immortal, Eggsy told him why.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he’d said. Casually, as though he were merely remarking upon the weather. Harry had given him a withering look in reply.

“Get back to me in a thousand years and see if you still feel that way,” he said brusquely.

He’d meant it as a joke, and since Eggsy dropped the subject, he figured it worked. But then, after Year 2,673, Eggsy found him on the streets on London and planted a sound kiss on the unsuspecting time traveler.

“I still feel that way,” was all he said, before he sauntered off in the other direction, leaving Harry to stare bewildered after him.

Their encounters since then had been a dance. Harry never directly acknowledge the boy’s feelings, nor did Eggsy ever bring them up again. Harry almost would have been fooled into thinking he’d gotten over them, but then he’d catch Eggsy staring at him, a small, fond smile playing on his lips. And Eggsy had never taken up a serious lover, not once, in all those years. He played around a bit, as one would expect, but when you lived forever, they were really very few people you could choose to spend your life with. Harry was the best Eggsy could hope for.

Eggsy stepped away from the time machine, bringing Harry back to the present. He stepped out the doorway himself, closing the machine behind him. Their surrounding scenery was a backdrop of beautiful devastation; they stood on the ruins of an ancient (by then, at least) castle, pillars covered with curling vines and a filigree of moss crumbling around them. Just beyond where a wall should have been, they could see a large, orange star, fire churning and swirling on the surface. It looked volatile, dangerous. But no other stars surrounded it; it was the last of its kind.

It truly was the end of the universe.

Harry heard Eggsy cough politely, and he turned his head away from the star to see that two old armchairs and a coffee table were anachronistically placed between the pillars, offering a good view of the destruction. And on the coffee table sat two cups of tea.

Harry let a laugh escape him as he walked over to the armchairs. Eggsy was already seated, holding one of the cups up to his smiling lips. When Harry sat and took the other teacup, Eggsy spoke, his voice quiet and somber.

“Really makes you think, doesn’t it,” he said, gazing out at the last star. His rough street accent had long since faded, ever since he spent a year in Queen Victoria’s court ‘just for the hell of it’, or so he’d told Harry. “After this, nothing. Trillions and trillions of years of history, just… ending.”

Harry hummed into his tea- which was quite good, considering how long Eggsy must have held onto it, bringing the cup down just enough for him to reply.

“Perhaps. But perhaps a new universe will take its place. You never quite know.”

Eggsy only shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter, I guess. We won’t be there to see it. Or, maybe _you_ will. You’re an awfully clever man, I’m sure you’ll think of something.” He gave Harry a teasing smile, and not for the first time, Harry returned it. Eggsy placed his cup back on the table and sighed, crossing his legs and folding his hands together on his lap.

He kept watching the last star burn, and Harry found that in the dull orange glow of the end of the universe, Eggsy really was quite handsome. The light contoured his face, sharp jawline and cheekbones, and set his green eyes almost aflame. His hair shone like spun gold, and both of Harry’s traitorous hearts stuttered. He forced himself to look away, staring instead down into the amber depths of his tea. A thought occurred to him.

“What about you?” he asked, not looking up. “What are you going to do?

“There’s not much I can do,” he responded quickly. Far too quickly. Like he had thought of the answer years ago and was resigned to it by that point. “This is the end for me as much as it is the universe. It’s not like I can just hop in a time machine and go back to when everything was new.”

There was nothing accusatory in his tone, which made Harry wince. That was one of Eggsy’s many admirable traits: he never placed the blame on anyone, even when he had every right to. There was no point in holding a grudge for hundreds, possibly thousands of years, he’d said. Harry’s admiration for him had only grown since then. So he felt like he had to apologize.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be. I’m not angry with you.” Eggsy’s smile was focused on him again, open and genuine. “I could never be angry with you,” he added softly.

“Why?” Harry finally gave in and asked the question that had been haunting him for ages. “I just can’t understand it, Eggsy. Why do you think so highly of me? When I’ve damned you to- to this.” His voice cracked at the end, a sign of his guilt.

Eggsy watched him carefully for a moment, before the young man stood from his chair and moved towards Harry with a sort of grace that had been honed over the many years. He knelt in front of the older-faced man and took his hands in his own. Harry stared into burning sea-green eyes.

“You saved my life, Harry,” he murmured. “You gave me opportunities I never dreamed of. I’ve done so many amazing, insane things, because an alien with a bloody time machine decided to save the life of a worthless street rat,” he squeezed Harry’s fingers, just as the man opened his mouth to protest. “How can I not love a man who, after all he’s been through and done, still looks at people with that much compassion?” The boy inhaled and exhaled quietly. “Do you remember what you told me?”

Harry paused, then shook his head.

“I do. I wrote it down.” Eggsy released one of Harry’s hands to reach into his pocket. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, so worn it was almost like a cloth. “I look at it every day.” He glanced down at the paper and recited, “ _’Never be cruel. Never be cowardly. And if you are, always make amends.’_ Those were your rules for me, and I lived by them for all these years.” Eggsy looked up, his eyes glassy, and he gave a watery smile. “You made me a better person, Harry. What better reason for falling in love is there than that?”

Harry gaped, his mouth parted open with shock, at the heartfelt and sincere declaration. His hearts pounded against his chest. That boy. That stunning, infuriating, utterly _impossible_ boy.

Without another word, Harry brought one of his hands up to cup the boy’s cheek, Eggsy leaning subconsciously into the touch, and gently led him up. Their lips met halfway in a soft, chaste kiss, though Harry guided Eggsy into his lap almost salaciously. The boy wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck, while Harry gripped his hips, their lips moving against each other. Behind the kiss was the pent-up force of a love that had been steadily building for millennia, and the acknowledgement that they had precious few minutes left together.

But maybe, it didn’t have to be that way.

Harry broke the kiss, gazing up at Eggsy as the boy panted softly against his lips.

“Come with me,” he whispered.

Eggsy cracked a tiny smile. “What, now? Finally worn you down, have I?”

Harry’s grip on his hips tightened, as his own face contorted with remorse. Of course. Eggsy hadn't done things the way Harry had, hopping to and fro across time and space. He’d done things the long way round, and as a result, he was even older than Harry. Nearly a trillion, if he even kept track of his age anymore. Maybe he was ready to have it all be over with. Harry wouldn’t have blamed him.

Eggsy must have understood the torrent of emotions that passed on the time traveler’s face, for he leaned down and placed a delicate kiss on Harry’s forehead. Then he smiled back down at Harry.

“Of course I want to come with you, you daft old man.”

“Really?” Harry stammered. “I thought that, maybe, you were done with it all…”

“On my own, maybe.” Eggsy got off of Harry’s lap, to the man’s dismay, but then held out a hand, grinning cheekily when a dumbfounded Harry took it. “But with you, I think I could handle another eternity.”

Harry took him in, the starlight illuminating his side, the weight of his hand warm and heavy in his own. And he thought, a tender smile gracing his features, that perhaps he could, too.

 

* * *

 

Later, when the star began to expand and enter the final stages of its life, the time machine that stood atop the ruins was gone, and the two stargazers gone along with it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Immortal!Eggsy is kind of a fun idea? I might do more with him later. 
> 
> Him and his time-traveling space husband, of course.
> 
> (Btw, that "never be cruel or cowardly" quotes was also from "Hell Bent". And it sums up perfectly why I love that stupid fucking show.)


End file.
